KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has imposed Rs523 million as monetary penalty on commercial banks for violating regulatory provisions during the first half of fiscal year 2021/22, a statement said.

The Central Bank said that it had imposed Rs58 million as penalty on five banks for the quarter ended December 31, 2021.

The SBP imposed a monetary penalty of Rs13.684 million on Bank Al Habib Limited; Rs12.545 million on The Bank of Punjab; Rs10.300 million on Askari Bank Limited; and Rs10.26 million on National Bank of Pakistan.

The Central Bank imposed the monetary penalty on the banks for violating regulatory instructions pertaining to general banking operation. In addition to the penal action, the central bank directed the banks to strengthen the processes with respect to identified areas.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, the SBP imposed a heavy amount of Rs465 million as monetary penalty on four banks.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2021, the SBP imposed a penalty of Rs280.51 million on National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for violating regulatory instructions pertaining to AML/CFT.

Similarly, a penalty of Rs132.437 was imposed on Silk Bank Limited for violating provisions of anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorism. The SBP also imposed penalties of Rs38.55 million and Rs13.54 million on United Bank Limited and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China-Pakistan Branches.